Hon. Anthony Michael Perkins Elected Speaker Of National Assembly

Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 30, 2016 (SKNIS): Former Deputy Speaker, the Honourable Anthony Michael Perkins, has been elected Speaker of the National Assembly today.

Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris announced at his press conference on June 29 that Senator Perkins had resigned as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and that a new Deputy Speaker will be nominated and elected at a subsequent sitting of Parliament.

The Honourable Perkins was elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly on 14th May, 2015 at the start of the new term pursuant to the Constitution of St. Christopher and Nevis.

Mr. Perkins had conducted the affairs of the National Assembly on several occasions while in the Deputy Speaker position due to the health challenges faced by former Speaker Honourable Franklin R.O. Brand, whose resignation was announced in May of this year.

Speaker Perkins has promised to follow in the footsteps of former Speaker Brand in upholding proper conduct of the National Assembly.

“I will do all that is necessary to ensure order and decorum in this House,” Speaker Perkins said.

Prime Minister Harris hailed the newly elected Speaker as a man, who he believes, will maintain integrity in the hallowed halls of Parliament.

Speaker Perkins hails from Charlestown in the island of Nevis. He received his primary education at the Charlestown Boys School, his secondary education at the Charlestown Secondary School, and later matriculated to the then Sixth Form of the Basseterre Senior High School between 1981 and 1983 where he secured Advanced Level passes in Mathematics and Physics.

Upon graduating from the Sixth Form, Mr. Perkins taught for several years in the subject areas of General Science, Mathematics, Physics and Accounts, and also served in the capacity of a Sports Master. In 1987, Mr. Perkins left his native Nevis to pursue a tertiary education in Florida at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU)/Florida State University (FSU), School of Engineering, where, in 1991, he successfully obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in the field of Civil Engineering. His education was quickly put to the test when he was subsequently employed as a civil engineer in the Public Works Department in that same year. In 1994, Mr. Perkins was promoted to the post of Director of Public Works. From 1996 until 2001, he served as Project Manager in the Ministry of Works, Nevis, where he managed several major infrastructural projects including the construction of the Deep Water Port, the Airport Terminal, Charlestown Water Front and reconstruction of most of the Island Main Road.

From 2001to 2006, Mr. Perkins served as the elected Representative for St. Paul, Nevis, and was Minister of Communications, Works, Public Utilities, Posts, Infrastructural Development, Physical Planning and Environment. Following a loss at the polls in 2006, for him and his political party – the Concerned Citizens Movement – Mr. Perkins took the opportunity to pursue an MBA degree in General Management from the Metropolitan College of New York, where he graduated in 2008. He was also a Senator in the National Assembly from 2000 to 2010. Additionally, Mr. Perkins has worked as a Private Consultant and is currently employed as a Consultant/Project Implementation Officer to the Nevis Island Administration. In May 2015, Mr. Perkins was elected Deputy Speaker to the Federal Parliament following his nomination to the post of Senator, once again, a few months earlier.

Mr. Perkins is married to his wife, Linda, of nigh 20 years, and is the proud father of two sons, Raheem, 17, and Demetri, 10. He is also a sports fan, widely read, an avid news-follower, and is strongly motivated by what he describes as an “innate desire” to solve problems, especially those of people in need and which are civil and/or technical in nature. He is passionate about the rights and welfare of people, and it should be no surprise, therefore, that he has a keen interest in social justice, law, and, of course, politics.